Former welterweight king Georges St.
Pierre is joining forces with four other UFC stars to launch
the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA) in hopes of
securing better treatment for both past and present UFC
fighters.

The formation of the MMAAA was announced during a conference call
on Wednesday. St. Pierre, Donald
Cerrone, Tim Kennedy,
Cain
Velasquez and T.J.
Dillashaw will serve as the five-man board for the association.
Meanwhile, ex-Bellator MMA CEO Bjorn Rebney will fill the role of
advisor.

“Every time we go fight, we’re afraid. This is a different kind of
fight. Even though I know a lot of fighters are afraid, because of
my situation I’m in a much better place than I was a few years ago.
I know fighters are afraid, but it’s time to step up and do the
right thing,” St. Pierre said. “It’s like a fight in the Octagon,
but it’s a fight against what is right and what is wrong. We should
never be afraid to stand for what is right.”

According to Rebney, the MMAAA is focused on three main goals: to
collect a “substantial” settlement to compensate past and present
UFC fighters; to increase fighter revenue sharing from eight
percent to 50 percent; and to negotiate a collective bargaining
agreement similar to what athletes in other major sports receive.
The association will strictly focus on athletes in the UFC will not
include fighters in other promotions such as Bellator or World
Series of Fighting.

“This is my focus,” Rebney said when asked if he had any plans to
return to the fight promotion business. “We’ve been working on this
for over two years...MMA has been pretty good to me. It’s not often
you get an opportunity to step up and do something that’s right.
I’m gonna be in this as long as these guys that sit on this sport
want me to be in this.”

Rebney made it clear that the MMAAA is an association, not a union,
because the latter wouldn’t hold up in court against the UFC
because of the fighters’ status as independent contractors. Beyond
that, the ex-Bellator head played it close to the vest regarding
the future plans of the MMAAA, although he did say that there are
no plans to contact the UFC directly.

“There’s no substantial benefit to the fighters sitting here with
me or the hundreds of fighters in the UFC to lay out our strategy,”
Rebney said. “We have a well-developed plan to win.”

The five-man board features three former champions (St. Pierre,
Velasquez, Dillashaw) and two other well-known figures in Cerrone
and Kennedy. More fighters are expected to join the association in
the coming weeks. Cerrone and Kennedy are scheduled to fight at UFC
206 on Dec. 10, while Velasquez and Dillashaw are booked for UFC
207 on Dec. 30.

“Years ago if you asked me to speak I wouldn’t have out of fear
that the UFC would’ve benched me or fired me,” Cerrone said.

“There’s still fear. But it needs to be done. Standing with the
five guys here, we’re big names, man. We just need to get the rest
of the guys to step up with us.”

The UFC was sold for a reported $4 billion to William Morris
Endeavor and International Management Group earlier this year, a
massive increase from the $2 million Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo
Fertitta spent on the promotion in 2000. Since then, the sport has
grown exponentially, with rising pay-per-view figures, television
contracts and significant more mainstream exposure.

“If you would’ve told me that this level of success would have
happened, I would have thought that it would have been shaped a
little bit differently. We’re the ones that pack the stadiums.
We’re the ones that drive pay per view buy rates. We’re responsible
for the hundreds of millions of dollars of sponsorships worldwide,”
Kennedy said.

“No man left behind resonates with me permanently. I would’ve
assumed that if the UFC reached the level of success that it has,
that the fighters wouldn’t have been left behind. You wouldn’t have
guys that can barely walk and there’s nothing that can be done for
them,” he continued. “That’s why we’re here today. We’re here to
never leave somebody behind. We’re here to take every step
necessary to make sure no athlete, no fighter in the UFC gets left
behind. That one-sided system that the UFC has in place and has had
for many years, and is now under new ownership and plans to keep in
place, it will be changed and changed immediately.”

Added St. Pierre: “UFC without fighters is only three letters of
the alphabet. It’s time to make our voice heard, to make change
happen.”

That change must be promoted by taking a risk, namely going against
the most powerful entity in mixed martial arts. St. Pierre and the
rest of the board recognizes that their cohorts might be hesitant
to take such a step.

“We’re not going to let any fighters down. We’re here to stay,” St.
Pierre said. “This same thing that is happening now has happened in
every other sport. It’s going to happen whether they like it or
not. I know a lot of fighters want to remain anonymous. I’m telling
you, come and see us and we’ll fight this thing together.”